The Slip: The Complete First Season Read online

  “What’s the problem?” asked Armand, standing over her right shoulder.

  She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know. I keep thinking I’m onto something and I get to a dead-end or a gap in the files, or it just doesn’t make sense. Look at this.” She highlighted an area of text with her finger so it grew larger on the display. “There are a few references to large-scale drones that are really recent, but that can't be right. Then, the actual designs for the drones we saw are ancient — I mean, at least three-thousand years old. But then when I try to find more information about them, there’s nothing.”

  “Or maybe, there’s something in that.” Armand crouched next to her and rubbed his chin. “Perhaps information was purposefully removed? Could it be possible that you’re mixing up two different things? There's no reason for these files to be linked, which means there’s probably something going on right now that we’re missing.”

  Squinting. she cast her eyes back over the recent files. “I think you’re right. How could I be so stupid?”

  Armand tilted his head with a jerk. “Since when has there been a station around Phobos?”

  “There isn’t one—”

  “Look: Phobos Mobius — that’s got to be a station. The larger stations either orbit each other in pairs or around central rings. This has got to be an orbital platform of some sort.”

  Chao-xing nodded. “That’s where we need to go.”

  “Right, I’ll set a course.” He got to his feet and passed behind Chao-xing.

  “Wait,” she said. “I’m worried.” She paused and switched off the display. “I think the Yaos destroyed Earth.”

  She turned to Armand.

  “I don’t know—”

  “Those huge miners we saw at the edge of the Lunar Band were ancient. You said it yourself: they could easily gut a planet given enough time.”

  “But why? It doesn't make sense.”

  “I don’t know. Remember when I showed you those fragments I found about the slip? I couldn’t make sense of them, but you thought it might have been describing a planet. I think that planet’s destruction was caused by those drones.”

  Armand nodded. “Then we need to get to Phobos before something else like this happens.”

  In region of Phobos, Mars

  Chao-xing stared in silence across the field of mining drones as she propelled her vacuum suit away from the Occulto’s airlock.

  “Look at the size of these things,” said Armand, his voice crackling through her helmet. “I’ve seen orbiters smaller than these.”

  A swarm of hand-sized robots reshaped the surface of a half-built drone. It reminded her of a sculptor creating an image from a formless lump of clay. “Well, they’re definitely new and they’re bigger than the ones we saw near Lunar,” she said. She edged closer to a drone: a smooth, gleaming hulk against the blackness of space.

  “Look,” she pointed to an asteroid being propelled towards another a drone, its surface crawling with thousands of hand-sized robots.

  “What are they?”

  “They’re breaking the rock down into useful materials. These things aren’t made from nothing.”

  Small lumps of molten metal floated like bubbles from the asteroid as the hand-sized robots melded them into the half-built structure, seamless and fluid.

  “They’re amazing,” Armand whispered.

  “That’s nothing compared to some of the Yao’s technology.”

  “I think we’ve seen enough. Let’s get back to the ship. If we get spotted out here—”

  “I should have known about this... I’m going to board the orbiter.”

  “We’re going back to the Occulto.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I need answers and this is where I’m going to find them.”

  Armand sighed. “Okay, okay. I’ll go. We can’t risk you being recognised.”

  “You’ll go? You’ll see if there’s a Yao on board and find out what’s going on?”

  There was a long pause before Armand answered. “Yes,” he said, finally.

  Phobos Mobius, Mars

  The airlock whispered closed behind Armand. The walls around him were smooth and seamless and glowing. Light shifted and fluctuated around him — fungal, mercurial, alive. He adjusted his movement to compensate for the increased gravity, higher than he expected.

  The wall was warm to the touch, its heat passing through his right glove and radiating in waves along his arm. He jerked his hand away to reveal an intense glow where he'd just touched, before blended back into the luminosity of the wall.

  The lights around him brightened. He froze.

  “Why are you here?” a voice echoed.

  He adjusted the helmet’s polarising visor and tried to work out where the voice came. He shuddered. With the helmet’s communicator switched off, everything should be silent.

  “Why are you here?” the voice repeated.

  The voice was coming through the helmet. He flicked the switch and the dull static of the communicator became live.

  “Armand? Is that you?”

  “Chao-xing? Yes. There's something very odd going on with my communicator.”

  “Why are you here?” the voice repeated.

  “Did you hear that?” Armand said. There was a click and communicator fell silent.

  Armand cleared his throat. “I need to talk to you about the drones.”

  “You shouldn't be here,” the voice said.

  “How are you speaking through my communicator? It doesn't—”

  “You shouldn't be here,” the voice repeated.

  Armand inched forward. The lights dropped to blackness. His heartbeat quickened as sweat dripped from his brow. Fumbling at the side of his helmet, he sighed with relief as a bright thin beam of light extended before him. He ran forward through the featureless corridor, but could see no sign of a door.

  “You shouldn't be here,” the voice repeated.

  “Fuck off.” He flicked his communicator again, but there was only silence. “All I want is to talk. Hear what I have to say and then I will leave.”

  The corridor changed from a hollow black to a warm yellow glow. An opening gaped before him ten metres ahead along the inner wall. Ripples dispersed around the opening and spread along the wall in broad waves. He switched off his helmet light.

  “Please come through,” the voice said.

  “Promise me—”

  “I will not harm you,” the voice said. “There is nothing to be gained from harming you. Of course, if you attempt to harm me...” the voice trailed off.

  Armand stepped through the opening to be met by a short pale woman with a thin black spike of hair protruding from her shaved scalp. Her skin was smooth, but her black eyes were dull and ancient — a Yao.

  “Remove your helmet,” she said.

  He unclipped the neck brace and with a small twist. Tiny flickers of light danced before the woman's eyes. For a moment, she focused on Armand, and then her eyes drifted to the blur of coloured lights.

  “Wha—”

  “Shh.” The woman raised a hand to signal silence. “Armand Gul?”

  He gasped. “Yes.”

  “Good, you're honest, at least.” The glow disappeared from before her eyes. “How did you find this platform?” She cut a cold stare through him.

  “I was passing.”

  “A lie. Do not waste my time Armand Gul. I know who you are, and I know you have seen our knowledge.”

  Armand blinked. “The archives?”

  “The knowledge,” she corrected.

  “Who are you? You're Yao aren't you?”

  “I am Yao Guan-yin.”

  “You're Huizhong's second.”

  “We are all Huizhong's second — I am closest in longevity.”

  Without comprehension, Armand nodded. “My—,” he paused. “An associate has been examining your archives.”

  “Your associate will not have been able to experience them — the examination will have been wor
thless.”

  “We knew how to find you,” he said.

  The hint of a half-smile crept onto Guan-yin's thin lips. “Impossible,” she said.

  It was Armand's turn to smile. “My associate said our system was slow and clumsy, but your archives are readable if you're committed.”

  “When Yao Lifen said the breach was not serious, she was clearly under a false impression, It must have been you who knocked out those Molotok agents,” Guan-yin mused. “Tell me Armand Gul, what did you manage to extract from the knowledge?”

  “Everything.”

  Guan-yin stared through Armand for a moment. The glowing colours returned before her eyes.

  “Why are the Yao building those huge drones?”

  She shrugged. “To mine — to extract. To do what we have always done — what we will always do.”

  “But where?”

  “Wherever we like. Mars is rich and untapped. Lunar—”

  “What if the same thing happens to Lunar that happened to Earth?”

  Guan-yin shook her head. “I do not know what you mean.”

  “Don't play me Guan-yin. If it's in the archive, it's in you. I know how this shit works.”

  “You know nothing,” Guan-yin snapped. “And now you must leave.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. I have commanded station to guide you out and give you a safe exit. I must warn you that when you return to the Occulto that you no longer pursue this little game.”

  Armand frowned..

  “You are under the false impression that the Occulto is a stealth cutter,” Guan-yin said. “Your ship may get around United Solar vessels, but we always know where you are. We will track you, we will find you and we will destroy you — it is that simple.”

  Armand made a show of gulping and nodded. “You win.”.

  As a flutter of blue and white darted before Guan-yin's eyes, Armand swung his helmet in a swift arc, connecting with the side of her skull. As she staggered back, he activated a stunner concealed in his suit's neck brace and smiled as she crumpled to her knees.

  He replaced his helmet and lifted Guan-yin over his shoulders. Switching on the suit's communicator, the familiar dull static returned.

  “Come and get me — I'm bringing her in.”

  The Occulto, in region of Mars

  “Wake up,” Chao-xing snapped. Guan-yin tugged her arms and shook her head, but it did nothing to loosen the binds or removed the sack from her head.

  Chao-xing's footsteps echoed as she paced barefoot along the holding cell floor. Her skin pricked against the air as the light halo shone down with its dull blue glow. “Your implants will not work on here - so don't even try,” she said. “I have some questions - you will answer them.”

  She lifted the sack from Guan-yin’s head.

  “Chao-xing,” she whispered, meeting her gaze. “Why are you doing this?”

  “You are mistaken. I am not who you think I am.”

  “I am not mistaken.”

  “Then you must have heard Armand—”

  “He was very careful - your name was not mentioned. Let's drop these games. Let's drop the pretence. It is impossible to hide from me - you know that. You were shunned for good reason Chao-xing.”

  Chao-xing tipped the chair backwards and cringed as Guan-yin's head struck the floor with a dull thud. “I'm not playing games,” she growled. “I want answers.” She knelt down and clamped her thighs around Guan-yin's head. “I want answers,” she repeated as Guan-yin thrashed against her binds.

  With her legs still clamped, she leaned to her right and pulled a bucket and cloth toward her with her trembling hands. “You will tell me about the slip,” she said as she picked the cloth out of the water and held it centimetres above Guan-yin's face. Water dripped from the cloth and gathered in a small pool next to her.

  She released the grip of her legs and dropped the cloth beside her. “I'm—,” her voice wavered, “I can't.”

  “What is it Chao-xing?” Guan-yin asked.

  “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” She righted Guan-yin's seat. “I'm so sorry.” She knelt to the floor, fumbling as she released Guan-yin’s binds. She locked Guan-yin’s gaze for a long, silent moment. The water from the cloth dripped through her fingers. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “What happened to you?” whispered Guan-yin.

  Chao-xing's face was taut as Armand poured sweet teas for her and Guan-yin from an ornamental blue and white teapot.

  “There were two things you wanted to know about,” said Armand with a half-smile as took a seat opposite Chao-xing.

  Her eyes stung as she sipped warm, sweet tea. “I really am sorry,” she said. “I am so ashamed for what I was going to do.”

  “And for the concussion?” Guan-yin asked, rubbing the back of her head.

  “I acted terribly. There is no excuse.” Chao-xing shook her head and stared into her tea, its surface forming a parabola as she swirled the cup in her hand.

  “Remember, you wanted to ask about the drones, about the slip,” said Armand.

  Guan-yin sniffed. “Do you always need this Purdah man to speak for you?”

  “Why are you building those drones?” Chao-xing asked. “And the truth.”

  “They are for mining,” said Guan-yin with a half-shrug. “It really is that simple.”

  Chao-xing placed her cup on the table and clenched her jaw. “I regret what I was going to do to you, but I only regret it because I did not try talking to you rationally first. I will not hesitate—”

  “You dare to threaten me?” Guan-yin spat. “You didn't have the strength in your convictions to—”

  “Do not underestimate me Guan-yin. Now, tell me the truth. The size and number of the drones make no sense for a simple mining operation - there's something else going on isn't there?”

  “You have our knowledge, why don't you work it out for yourself?” Guan-yin smiled and leaned back in her chair.

  Chao-xing rose from her seat, grabbed Guan-yin's thin spike of hair and yanked her head to the table. She leaned down, her mouth brushing against Guan-yin's ear. “I am not fucking around. Give me straight answers or I will not hesitate to throw you out of the fucking airlock.”

  “I don't think she's joking,” said Armand.

  Chao-xing released her grip and returned to her seat. “Do we understand each other?”

  “We understand each other,” Guan-yin said as she took a sip from her tea with trembling hands. “But you are not going to like it.”

  Chao-xing exchanged a quick glance with Armand.

  “What you have to realise is that United Solar is holding us all back. Restrictive, suppressive, repressive - they privilege protectionism over innovation. Look at what we can do - look at our knowledge. Compare that to everyone else. In the guise of protecting its citizens, protecting the Affiliates, they haven't advanced - if anything they've regressed—”

  “This is all well and good, but this isn't what I asked you. Tell me about the drones,” said Chao-xing.

  “This is what I'm trying to tell you. Without context, our plans are meaningless. We're intervening in humanities demise. We did it three millennia ago on Earth, and we will do the same on Lunar.”

  Chao-xing's eyes widened. “Are you saying the slip was an intervention? The Yao did it on purpose?”

  “You would have known this if you had read the knowledge through one of our networks.” Guan-yin sighed and opened her palms. “We wanted humanity to leave Earth with the hope they would populate the system – perhaps even the galaxy. But rather than expanding and building on our early colonisation, humanity focused on survival when it should have focused on improvement.”

  “Do you not see why that was madness? Those living on Earth must have been wiped out.”

  “They would have died anyway, but the slip didn't achieve the results were wanted. We developed, we evolved, we transcended the mundane trappings of humanity - but their legislature has made it so we are a legal anomaly, a qui
rky oddity on the fringes. They have made us powerless when we have more knowledge than they could ever dream.”

  “But I thought the Yao were keeping their knowledge to themselves?” Armand asked.

  “Don’t be so ridiculous – it is the other Affiliates that have resisted development.”

  Chao-xing scowled as Gaun-yin rose to her feet and paced. “It's pathetic. It's all pathetic,” she spat. “This is why we need to take the slip to the next level. We will deploy the drones to cause a slip on Lunar and then Mars. It's the only way we can orce the hands of United Solar.”

  “You're mad,” whispered Armand.

  “Mad?” Guan-yin turned to Armand. “Tell me what is mad: leaving humanity to fester and degenerate over centuries or to free humanity from its shackles, free it to evolve to the next level? This isn't madness, Armand Gul. This is the only way.”

  Chao-xing shook her head. “Because it worked so well the first time?”

  “Our predecessors didn't go far enough last time. Our political system has remained stagnant; our laws have remained largely unchanged and are there to work against humanity’s interests. Do you not agree?”

  “So your plan is to destroy everything until you're left with something manageable?” asked Chao-xing.

  Guan-yin shrugged. “I'll admit the method isn't ideal, but we have the means to repopulate with transhumans within a generation. We can use our knowledge to go beyond cloning ourselves and herald in a new era.”

  “I've heard enough,” said Chao-xing as she flexed her fingers. “The Yao destroyed our home to improve humanity and it failed. Now you think you're going to get different results by destroying our only terrestrial planets? I'm sorry, that's insanity.”

  “I don't expect you to see my vision - this is why humanity is forcing my hand. I wish you could see.”

  Armand shook his head and turned to Chao-xing. “What shall we do?”

  “We'll return her to Phobos and figure something out. I've heard more than I need.”

  “I knew this would be beyond your comprehension,” Guan-yin spat. “You were always weak.”

  “You arrogant...” Chao-xing's voice trailed off as she rose from her seat and grabbed Guan-yin's hair. “Come,” she snapped as she dragged her to her feet.